1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and method, and a recording medium and, more particularly, relates to an information processing apparatus and method, and a recording medium that are capable of presenting a wide range of programs that attract the interest of a user.
2. Description of the Related Art
Some digital recording devices, such as hard disk recorders, which have been sold in recent years, have been installed with a function of selecting predetermined programs from among recorded programs and of presenting the programs as recommended programs to a user.
In such devices, for example, programs are selected on the basis of program information on recorded programs, which is obtained from an EPG (Electronic Program Guide) and on the basis of settings made by a user so that programs of a genre selected by the user or programs containing keywords selected by the user in titles thereof become recommended programs.
However, in digital recording devices of the related art, although recommended programs can be selected and provided to the user, the display thereof is such that titles of programs are only listed and displayed together with the reason for recommendation. Therefore, the display is not interesting, and it is not possible for the user to easily confirm what kinds of programs have been given as recommended programs.
Accordingly, information on recommended programs is presented, rather than being given as a mere list of titles, in the same form as that in which, similar to the cover and the table of contents of a magazine, the outline of a plurality of special feature articles carried in the magazine is presented with photographs being mixed with the information as appropriate. Thus, it is possible for the user to easily confirm what kinds of programs have been given as recommended programs (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2006-191486).